Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Increases Stock Position in Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) by 35.6% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 20,382 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,352 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Itron were worth $2,017,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ITRI. Trexquant Investment LP grew its position in Itron by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 67,973 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $5,133,000 after buying an additional 10,542 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Itron during the 1st quarter valued at $2,002,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Itron in the 1st quarter worth $1,076,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in Itron in the 1st quarter worth $2,029,000. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in Itron during the first quarter valued at $904,000. 96.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Itron Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of Itron stock opened at $103.41 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 3.16 and a quick ratio of 2.61. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $100.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $99.19. The stock has a market cap of $4.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.47. Itron, Inc. has a 1-year low of $56.11 and a 1-year high of $113.07.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.25. Itron had a net margin of 7.98% and a return on equity of 16.42%. The company had revenue of $609.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $599.25 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.65 earnings per share. Itron’s quarterly revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Itron, Inc. will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Itron from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Itron from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Itron in a research note on Monday, August 5th. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Itron in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $133.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on Itron from $109.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $118.64.

Insider Activity

In other Itron news, SVP Donald L. Reeves III sold 4,210 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.00, for a total transaction of $425,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 16,269 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,643,169. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CFO Joan S. Hooper sold 509 shares of Itron stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.15, for a total value of $51,994.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 72,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,389,326.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Donald L. Reeves III sold 4,210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.00, for a total value of $425,210.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 16,269 shares in the company, valued at $1,643,169. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,776 shares of company stock valued at $584,721 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Itron Company Profile

Itron, Inc, a technology, solutions, and service company, provides end-to-end solutions that help manage energy, water, and smart city operations worldwide. It operates in three segments: Device Solutions, Networked Solutions, and Outcomes. The Device Solutions segment offers hardware products that are used for measurement, control, or sensing, such as standard gas, electricity, water, and communicating meters, as well as heat and allocation products.